“We live in a world saturated with mobile devices, environmental sensors, social media channels and more – all of which constantly generate vast amounts of data,” Gates said. “Deriving meaningful insights and actionable information from these data sources presents challenges for computer scientists.”

The 30-minute presentation will involve software developers from a leading technology company as well as UM Information Technology staff members. Children of IT staff will assist with live demonstrations.

“We’re finding out how in-memory databases, such as HANA, are helping to address the challenges of big data,” she said. “This presentation will focus on the hardware and software features of in-memory databases.”

Gates earned her doctorate in engineering science from UM, master’s degrees in computer science and mathematics from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from Louisiana State University. She began working with the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research at UM in 1988, became director of academic computing in 1998, assistant vice chancellor in 2003 and chief information officer in 2006.